F.C.C. RAID SHUTS DOWN RADIO FREE CASCADIA 98.5FM

Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 16:31:24 -0800
From: sprig from pickAxe <pickaxeprod@igc.org>
Subject: FCC RAID SHUTS DOWN RFC 98.5FM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!

WHAT: F.C.C. RAID SHUTS DOWN RADIO FREE CASCADIA 98.5FM
WHEN: AM MARCH 15 TH, 2001
CONTACT: STEVE BOUTON at 242-0943; email: radio985@efn.org;
PO Box 12200 Eugene, OR 97440

Early in the morning of Thursday, March 15th, the Federal Communications
Commision (FCC), along with 8 U.S. Marshalls, 3 local cops, and other
agents arrived with a search warrant, battering ram, and drawn guns to
search and seize the long running micro-power station, Radio Free
Cascadia (RFC) 98.5 FM.

People living at the Whiteaker neighborhood residence were awoken and
questioned individually as to the operations of the station and people
involved. All broadcasting equipment was taken into custody.
Radio Free Cascadia has been providing an alternative to corporate radio
for over three years to the Eugene community. This was an obvious
attack on free speech and autonomy.

RFC claims "We will be back on the air!"
Stay tuned for more information.

The following is taken from the Evolutionary Statement of RFC 98.5FM:

" The capitalist marketplace has put a price on the earth and the very
thoughts of citizens, as if these were products to be owned and traded
by faceless economic machines. Huge multinational conglomerates,
facilitated by the industrial governments of the world, use their
profits to control more and more public space, from national forests and
city parks to television, print and radio media.
Following this global trend of consolidating private ownership of public
resources, channels of mass communication have become less and less
accessible to individuals and local communities. The assumption that
most of our society disires a spoon-fed version of current political and
cultural events, denies the potential for an ever-changing blend of
ideas and values to stimulate social change on a local level.
Mass media provides a constant flow of meaningless, consumer-oriented,
mass-produced cultural symbols that simultaneously encourage both
uniformity and competition. This commercialization of culture is a
massive obstacle to the emergence of the creative social interaction and
artistic expression that is vital to confront the diverse problems
facing civilization.

"Citizens around the globe have chosen to respond to this domination of
public discourse nonviolently and pro-actively, by simply reclaiming
these public spaces, even in the face of violent government repression.
Micro-power or "pirate" radio is one such response.
Radio Free Cascadia seeks to be only one outlet for the incredible
diversity of ideas and perspectives in our bio-region. Like the water,
air and soil, radio airwaves are a public resource, and as such should
be utilized for the greatest common good. RFC believes that the public
freedoms expressed by the First Amendment of the Constitution should
apply equally to micro-power radio, Internet web sites and your local
community bulletin board. Perhaps the FCC's insistence on control over
the airwaves is best explained by their economically biased regulatory
process - hopelessly skewed in favor of corporate interests.
RFC believes that to allow profit-driven corporate entities to elbow out
grass roots media channels is to mock the notion of free speech, and
suppress the possibility of deeper social interations in our daily
lives. RFC is prepared to confront this threat to the survival of our
civil liberties through continued nonviolent direct action and
constitutionally-based legal defense."